I approach the bar, lean against it. I catch sight of myself in the mirror. I’ve done a good job. I glance around. I know what I’m looking for. It is the details that give it away. The type of boat shoes, the logo on the car key. Mostly they are unbearable. But I only need one.
And then I spot him, the pale grey hair, cut short, the strong line of his shoulders. It’s the man from the beach. As he turns round, I see he’s obviously been playing golf. A green-and-purple-patterned sweater. I’ll have to sort the clothes out. But still.
‘Hello, you.’
‘Hello again.’ He smiles. He opens his wallet. Slides out a police badge.
‘It’s Serena, isn’t it?’
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I owe a huge debt of gratitude to the novelist Sarah May, my tutor at the Faber Academy, for giving me permission to call myself a writer and helping me grow Greenwich Park from a half-formed idea into a real life book. To my talented Faber peers – especially Gill, Martin, Susie, Suzy, Nicky and Melissa: thank you for your unrelenting support and encouragement, and for reading more drafts of this book than I can bear to think about!
Thank you so much to my brilliant editor Alison Hennessey and the extraordinarily talented team at Raven. I could not have imagined a more perfect home for Greenwich Park; thank you so much for your commitment to it and for your boundless energy and enthusiasm. I feel so privileged to be working with you all. Thanks, too, to the wonderful Jackie Cantor and Nita Pronovost at Gallery, for having such an exciting vision for Greenwich Park.
I am so grateful to my brilliant agent, Madeleine Milburn – truly the agent of dreams – for believing in Greenwich Park and being its most tireless champion, and to everyone at the Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV & Film agency for all their help, guidance and patience.
I’m extremely grateful to Colin Sutton for his expert advice on police procedure; any remaining errors are undoubtedly my own.
Those who remember that first antenatal class in the Drapers Arms will know how grateful I was （in the end） for the experience. Thanks Ali, Bonnie and Beth, for getting me through it, and for navigating the strange, twilight world of new motherhood with me.
Thank you Mum and Dad, who have been encouraging me to write my stories for as long as I can remember. Thank you to my sister Jo, for always being my greatest supporter, as I am yours. Extra thanks to Mum, Jo, Lara, Kirsty, Sue and Brendan, and anyone else who was roped into looking after my children for me while I escaped to libraries and cafes to write.
A special thanks must go to Kate and Hannah, for first encouraging me in my mad scheme to write a book during what I’ll always think of as ‘our’ maternity leave. Thank you both – and Jen, Ellie, Portia, Emma, Olivia and Lizzy – for being the kind of friends Helen could only dream of.
To my daughters, Emma and Maddie. Thank you both for sleeping （occasionally）。
And my final thanks go to Pete, without whose unfailing love and support this book would never have been written, and to whom it is dedicated.
A NOTE ON THE AUTHOR
Katherine Faulkner is a novelist and journalist. After studying history at Cambridge, she completed a postgraduate diploma in journalism, and spent a decade working for national newspapers. She has worked as an investigative reporter, and won the Cudlipp Award for public interest journalism for her undercover work. Her most recent role was at The Times, where she was the joint Head of News. She lives in north London with her husband and two daughters.